PS 2600 kits

These kits are now sold out. This page is being left online for reference only. Thank you to those
who purchaced any of them. Sorry to those who missed out.

Through a special, one time agreement with Athearn Trains, we were able to sell a limited number of their PS2600 Covered hoppers
in undecorated kit form.
These kits contained all the parts needed to build about any road specific PS2600 model desired. There were two kits available but the ONLY
difference in the two kits were the walkways. Either the center mounted walkway or the wrap-around for the Through hatch roof.
Each kit contained;

Two body shells - one for the even roof and one for the overhanging roof

Three roofs, two with 30" hatch opens - a flush eve and a overhanging eve, and one roof with the through hatch / even eves

Two variations of brake housings and linkage

All the other plastic parts needed to build one car

All the various wire grabs needed to finish the car

Couplers, trucks and weights

An appropriate Plano Model Products produced walkway and brake platform was supplied in each kit.

All you need is glue, paint and decals.

NOTE: Each kit will only build one car! You'll have to be very creative to use the extra parts... Maybe a flat car load of a
damaged car??

Think of these as a no frills kit and the instructions will be pretty basic. As modelers begin to work on their cars and want to make
suggestions or tips, I can post them here. (SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE) And if anyone wishes to share their road specific modifications, I can post them here also.

Here is a roster of the PS2600s compiled by James Eager and posted on the MFCL. If anyone has any updates or corrections they wish to make,
Please let me know.

I reserve the right to update, fix, correct, or change any info on this site!

Modelers notes, inputs, questions...

While looking through online photos of PS2600's, I noticed several had
holes for rope pulls rather then the wire loops like the ones supplied in the kits. I guess these could be
built from styrene.

And what are the tubes on the ends of this GT car?
Are they some sort of pressure diff. tubes? Here is another view of the tube but also notice the
brake platform? How common are/were the
Morton pattern platforms?
Does anyone have detail photos of the ends of these PS2600 cars? Would you mind sharing with me/use?

Jim from Highball graphics sent this update.
Hi Keith,
I just saw your post on the Freight car modelers group on the PS 2600's.
It's funny I just did up the
Decal artwork for the GTW 111100-111199 cars.
I'll probably have them Screen Printed in a month or 2. These cars were in
captive service in VT for Limestone loading and I think they will be popular
with New England Modelers. I have a few detail pics I can send if you need them
. The 2 pics attached were taken by me on the New England central in Brattleboro,
VT on 8/27/05. On some of these cars there were 5" or 6" pipes installed for
some reason. They entered the car top-center and angled down to the bottom
and exited below the sill by the step. Both pipes appear to exit the same
side. They have fittings on the ends for a hose so they could have been for
loading or pressurizing the load for unloading. I'm trying to find out what
they were used for. If you look close at the pics I sent the 111193 dosen't
have them and the 111122 dose.
I haven't been able to find any shots of the 138000 series cars in GTW paint.
I did find a shot of one that was sold to the Wisconsin & Southern I noticed
you don't have them listed on your chart. Of the 50 cars in the 138000-138049
series looks like 36 went to the WSOR (501001-501036) and 10 went to CREX (1100-1109) in 1988.